Netherlands-based cultivated beef producer Mosa Meat has submitted its first request for Novel Foods market approval in the EU, seeking authorisation for its cultivated fat ingredient.
The fat is designed to be blended with plant-based ingredients to create beef-style products such as hamburgers, meatballs, and bolognese. Following the regulatory submission, the cultivated fat will be evaluated by The European Commission (EC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
The submission is an important step towards introducing cultivated meat products to the European market; EU laws do not allow cultivated products to be assessed as a whole, but instead require cultivated ingredients to be submitted individually.
This is only the second time a cultivated product has entered the EU’s Novel Foods process — the first was Gourmey’s foie gras, submitted last year. The evaluation of Mosa Meat’s cultivated fat is expected to take around 18 months.

“The soul of flavour”
Last year, Mosa Meat raised €40 million in an oversubscribed funding round. The company said the funding would be used to scale up production processes, drive down production costs, and prepare for market entry.
Three months later, Mosa Meat hosted the first official tasting of cultivated beef in the EU. The company’s burger reportedly received high praise, with participants saying it “really tasted like meat”. The cultivated beef has also been complimented by 2-star Michelin chef Hans van Wolde, who said he was “blown away by the beefy taste and the amazing mouthfeel of the beef fat”.
“We are eager to collaborate closely with regulatory authorities to ensure full compliance with safety requirements,” said Maarten Bosch, CEO of Mosa Meat. “Fat is the soul of flavour, and we’ve developed an ingredient that delivers the rich culinary experience consumers expect from conventional beef. This innovation not only enhances our Mosa Burgers but also has the potential to elevate plant-based products, which often struggle to replicate the full sensory experience of meat.”